Us Defence Secretary

US Navy admiral denies 'kill all' order amid probe on Venezuela boat strike

A Navy admiral told lawmakers Thursday that there was no kill them all order from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as Congress scrutinises an attack that killed two survivors of an initial strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters near Venezuela. Adm Frank Mitch Bradley "was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all. He was given an order that, of course, was written down in great detail, said Sen Tom Cotton, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, as he exited a classified briefing. Cotton defended the attack, but a Democrat who also was briefed said that while there was no kill them all order from Hegseth, he was still deeply concerned by video of the second strike. What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service, Connecticut Rep Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters. You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of .

Hegseth's use of Signal posed risk to US personnel, finds Pentagon watchdog

The Pentagon's watchdog found that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth put US personnel and their mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen, two people familiar with the findings said Wednesday. Hegseth, however, has the ability to declassify material and the report did not find he did so improperly, according to one of the people familiar with the report's findings who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the information. CNN first reported the initial findings. The review by the Pentagon inspector general's office was delivered to lawmakers, who were able to review the report in a classified facility at the Capitol. A partially redacted version of the report was expected to be released publicly later this week. The findings ramp up the pressure on the former Fox News Channel host after lawmakers had called for the independent inquiry into his use of the commercially available app

US forces to use Dominican Republic base in expanded anti-drug campaign

Aircraft will be refuelled and logistical tasks will take place at the San Isidro base and Las Americas international airport near Santo Domingo, according to President Luis Abinader

US Defence Secy Hegseth's plane diverted to UK due to cracked windshield

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom because a windshield cracked on a flight back to the US from a NATO meeting and all aboard are safe, the Pentagon said. The plane landed "based on standard procedures", Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X. After Hegseth left Brussels, open source flight trackers spotted his C-32 lose altitude and begin broadcasting an emergency signal. No members of the Pentagon press corps were travelling with Hegseth, as was regular practice under previous defence secretaries. Instead, Pentagon reporters were emptying their desks and cleaning out their workspaces after rejecting new rules for journalists based in the Pentagon. In February, an Air Force C-32 carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch, was similarly forced to return to Washington after an issue with the cockpit windshield. The incident occurred about 90 minu

Trump, Hegseth to meet hundreds of military leaders amid rising speculation

President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth plan to address hundreds of US military officials in person Tuesday after the Pentagon suddenly asked top commanders from around the world to convene at a base in Virginia without publicly revealing the reason. The gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico near Washington has fuelled intense speculation about the purpose and value of summoning such a large number of generals and admirals to one place, with many stationed in more than a dozen countries that include conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere. Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new. But experts say the scale of the gathering, the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it are particularly unusual. The notion that the secretary is going to talk to the generals and give them his vision for running the department and maybe also for strategy and organisation that's perfectly reasonable, said Mark ...

McNamara at War: Rare later regret over Vietnam worthy of admiration

Robert McNamara's life was defined by a quest for control. A new biography shows how that same drive shaped his Vietnam errors - and his rare, late-in-life willingness to admit them

Hegseth reposts video featuring pastors saying women shouldn't vote

The man who oversees the US' military reposted a video about a Christian nationalist church that included various pastors saying women should no longer be allowed to vote. The extraordinary repost on X from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, made on Thursday night, illustrates his deep and personal connection to a Christian nationalist pastor with extreme views on the role of religion and women. In the post, Hegseth commented on an almost seven-minute-long report by CNN examining Doug Wilson, co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, or CREC. The report featured a pastor from Wilson's church advocating the repeal of women's right to vote from the Constitution, and another pastor saying that in his ideal world, people would vote as households. It also featured a female congregant saying that she submits to her husband. All of Christ for All of Life, Hegseth wrote in his post that accompanied the video. Hegseth's post received more than 12,000 likes and 2,000 shares

Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans. The questions which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security. The US has shifted significant numbers of refuelling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect U.S. personnel and airbases. We are postured ...

Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary: Hegseth

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions during a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations. Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief. In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer. Rep Adam Smith asked whether the Pentagon has plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary. Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any contingency, Hegseth said several times. It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of

'Beijing top US threat': China preparing for war, warns Pentagon chief

Hegseth believes US President Donald Trump's "peace through strength" strategy is the appropriate response, and that the stagnating US defence industrial base must be revitalised

Congress grills Hegseth on deployment of troops to LA, Pentagon spending

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was met with sharp questions and criticism Tuesday by lawmakers who demanded details on his move to deploy troops to Los Angeles, and they expressed bipartisan frustration that Congress has not yet gotten a full defence budget from the Trump administration. Your tenure as secretary has been marked by endless chaos, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told Hegseth. Others, including Republican leaders, warned that massive spending projects such as President Donald Trump's desire for a USD 175 billion Golden Dome missile defence system will get broad congressional scrutiny. The troop deployment triggered several fiery exchanges that at times devolved into shouting matches as House committee members and Hegseth yelled over one another. After persistent questioning about the cost of sending National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said

'Expanding our security partnerships with India': US Defence Secy Hegseth

We are expanding our security partnerships with India through robust military exercises like Tiger Triumph, said Hegseth

US will stand by Indo-Pacific allies against China threat: Pete Hegseth

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressures from China. He said Washington will bolster its defences overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade would look like of the self-governing island, which Beijing claims as its own and the US has pledged to defend. China's army "is rehearsing for the real deal", Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. We are not going to sugarcoat it -- the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent. China has a stated goal of having its military be able to take Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027, a deadline that is seen by experts as more of an aspirational goal than a hard war deadline. But China has also developed sophisticated man-ma

Pete Hegseth imposes fresh restrictions on reporter access to Pentagon

Hegseth said he was imposing the restrictions to protect classified national intelligence information, or CNSI

US Defence Secretary directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active duty military to shed 20 per cent of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration keep pushing the services to streamline their top leadership positions. Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions. In a memo dated Monday, Hegseth said the cuts will remove redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership. On top of the cuts to the top-tier four-star generals, Hegseth has also directed the military to shed an additional 10% of its general and flag officers across the force, which could include any one-star or above or equivalent Navy rank. Hegseth said the cuts aimed to free the military from unnecessary bureaucratic layers. The news of the cuts was first reported by CNN.

Pete Hegseth speaks to Rajnath Singh, backs India's right to defend itself

During the call, the US secretary of defence offered his sympathies for the deceased and reaffirmed his country's support for India in its battle against terrorism

Hegseth set up unsecured internet line in his office to connect to Signal

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press. The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth's use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defence information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance. Known as a dirty" internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user's information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon's secured connections maintain. Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there's a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked. But the biggest advantage of using such a line is that the user would not show up as one of the many IP addresses

US defense secy shared Yemen attack details in second Signal chat with wife

Pete Hegseth shared details about the Houthis attack in a second private Signal group chat that included his wife and brother: Details here

Pete Hegseth's Pentagon faces 'full-blown meltdown,' warns ex-spokesman

The warning from John Ullyot, who resigned last week after initially serving as Pentagon spokesman, followed statements by three top officials who were reportedly fired amid inquiry into leaks

Ex-advisers to Hegseth decry 'baseless attacks' after ouster in leak probe

Three former senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decried on Saturday what they called baseless attacks after each was escorted from the Pentagon in an expanding probe on information leaks. Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth's deputy chief of staff were among four officials in Hegseth's inner circle who were ousted this past week. While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X said the three were incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door. At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of leaks' to begin with, the post said. Former .